Events are an integral part of every business. Although they come in many different forms and sizes, knowing how to plan an event will help ensure its success.

An event planner can lift the stress of planning your event and free you up to concentrate on other things.  Professional event planners also have relationships that allow for more competitive rates with venues or caterers.  An event planner may look like an additional cost in your budget, but they may save you more in the end by negotiating rates and finding creative ways to cut costs without sacrificing the quality of the event.

Five key areas a good event manager will focus on are:

The Budget.  Identifying how much you want to spend on the event and staying within those limits is an important part of the planning process.

Timeline. Planning a successful event is all in the details. We tell clients that 90 days is necessary for planning small to mid-sized functions and six months to a year is needed for planning large functions such as industry conferences.

Venue. Some things to think about when selecting your site: Is the space flexible? Does the venue offer services such as on-site catering or audio visual equipment? Is the venue centrally located and accessible for all attendees? Is there enough parking? Is the venue within your budget? Or are you willing to sacrifice other items to have this venue?

Program. Make sure your program is interesting or unique enough to bring people to your event and keep them engaged while at it. Another way an event planner can come in handy is to help you create a theme.

Promotion.  If no one knows about your event, then how do you expect them to attend? Engaging a public relations firm that does event planning can use their experience in PR tactics to promote your event.

A great deal of time and effort goes into planning and executing events, but it can be well worth it to reach your business goals.